I have faith that there will be a lot of good that comes of this - sometimes it takes a jolt to make the necessary shifts.
The insane treadmill these kids have been on, the insane amount of money parents spend on extracurriculars. The prescriptions, depression, and eating disorders. The really dysfunctional higher ed system. In some ways, I don’t know that any of it would be addressed without something extreme forcing the issue. For me, things seem to be snapping into focus a little more clearly.
@Happytimes2001 - it sounds like your family is having a great time getting back to the great outdoors. We are more “great indoors” people. ?. So kiddo has been teaching me his passion for speed running Mario Odyssey (don’t ask), and I have been teaching him the essential repertoire of cooking and baking (aka how to win friends and influence people with french toast and pie).
What has NOT been happening is anything to enhance his resume. Unless you count him working for me at my office and developing a signature shrimp pasta dish.
@CateCAParent
Yes, sadly I have noticed the extreme treadmill and think about it often.
We tried the indoor thing once with a Wii. It consisted of several bowling games and some dance moves and that was about it.
It’s hard right now getting kids to do anything on their resume. One of mine is working on my website ( at an excellent rate, I might add). Another one is painting. Still it’s slow going compared to normal life.
Going to the store or for gas is big news and exciting some days.
Hello @CateParent ! I am one of the NYC front line workers. Life has been rather stressful while trying not to bring Covid -19 home to the twins. New York City is more stable now. What a relief !!! Many of the staff came down with it. Take care all of you .
My kiddos have their first summers jobs now. The DMV in New Jersey line was sooooooooooooo long but we survived. Everyone now has a REAL ID . @ gardenstategal, 2020 has been a wild year so far. All vacations are staycations !!! Good to see you also.
Have your school released opening plans? Ours has but is lacking a lot of specifics.
Students have to complete antigen testing multiple times (confused as to why not COVID testing) and day students (all are located in the same dorms and boarders) are not allowed in the dorms at all. They are going to be placed somewhere (probably the gym floor…) which is unfair considering they have no real place to stay anymore.
Other than that I think appropriate precautions are being taken and internationals have to self quarantine on campus a week before orientation.
@Happytimes2001 Yep. They are being removed from their day rooms that had desks, couches, etc. essentially a dorm for day students. They’re kicked out now to limit contact with boarders and the only place all could fit would be the gym floor. Nothing is confirmed yet, but this is what most parents and students are speculating
@hopefulswimmer58 Wow, seems a bit odd as boarders and day students sign up for a different type of thing. Is your child at a school with a very small number of day students so the school can mandate day students adhere to this program to satisfy the plan? Some BS have lots of day students and some have very little. I can’t imagine any parent of a day student going in for a 50-65K plan for a day student to live in a gym. But if they are not sleeping there than it seems fine. From your post I can’t tell.
Second read tells me it must be the latter.
Today, we got an email with an official move-in date for cjkid’s school (hooray!). Is everyone happy with their BS’s plan? We are and cjkid couldn’t be happier to get back on campus, regardless of how different the experience may be…
On another note, is anyone else the parent of a recruited athlete?
@Cj9623 - thanks for sharing…to answer your question @ school plan, it seems our school has done everything in their power to develop a safe protocol for reopening - also secured testing contracts way in advance. I know that a couple of schools have had issues with getting the testing on campus. OUr drop off period is very short - 15 minutes. We have scheduled times for not much more than unloading the car.
On another note…kiddo was hoping to be a recruited athlete but now is feeling rather hopeless - as recruiting has been pushed back again, no Spring season last year, no prospect camps or some still up in the air for later, etc…still hoping for golf down the road somewhere.
@Golfgr8 Ugh! I know zero about the golf recruitment scene. Are there big tournaments prospects typically attend or is it just camps? Can you send video to coaches?
After hearing about other schools cancelling their scheduled in-person return at the last minute, I’m afraid our school may still change its reopening plan. :neutral:
Now that the fall college rep visit schedule is in full swing (even if virtually), are juniors typically allowed / encouraged to attend the sessions? DS would very much like to participate in a few, but has been told by the CC dept. that college reps neither want nor expect to engage with juniors, only seniors. This doesn’t feel right to me. Am I off?
We haven’t started the official college process yet, but that is how I have interpreted the basic message from CC right now.
Juniors are supposed to be focusing on figuring out what they want from the schools in the big picture - the college rep meetings are for those further along in the process and have narrowed down their search to specific colleges. Also, the students and counselors have more of a sense of what is a match bc they have more grades and testing available.
Especially this year, I get the sense that there is a lot of stress around the seniors, since they don’t have the testing done and didn’t get to visit schools. That means the cc depts and ao’s have a lot more work to do/ hand holding this fall with the seniors than normal. ‘22s aren’t in crisis like they are. Yet.
I wonder what spring/summer will be like for college visits for ‘22s.
Our school’s policy, pre-covid, was that juniors could attend a rep visit ONLY if it was during a time when they had no obligations. Seniors could miss class. Since most reps scheduled visits during the school day, the opportunities for juniors were pretty limited. Some reps would also schedule 1 on 1 interviews although this was less common.
I think this is pretty normal and the timing is right. Starting in January, college counseling for juniors really starts to intensify. This is a term when juniors need to keep their head in the BS game!
Yes, Juniors need to focus. I also think the college guidance office is under immense pressure like never before. They can barely get Seniors in for SAT’s/ACT’s, the kids can’t visit schools so everyone is under pressure. And they also must be having a tough time with athletic recruits.
We did find that the school has a cycle of activities. Personally, my kid would have started with college visits ( just to see size of the school and location) in March of Sophomore year to make it less stressful later. That didn’t happen with Covid. Now we are planning visits in Spring 2021 ( if possible) and my kids is doing research online. Just perusing schools and seeing what they offer. But now that school has started that research is unlikely to happen again until Winter break.
Hi y’all!